Why should you upgrade to Google Analytics 4 and how does it differ from early versions? Everything you need to know is covered in this tutorial from our digital marketing agency. Do you intend to continue monitoring how users interact with your website? If so, you need to understand Google Analytics 4, including what it is, how it varies from earlier product versions, and why you should switch.
What is Google Analytics 4?
analytical platform Google Analytics offers information on website traffic, engagement, and conversion. The majority of websites in use today use it to let you keep tabs on user activity on each page of your website.
Like every other piece of software, Google Analytics has undergone a continuous process of development since its launch in 2005. Updates to the Classic Google Analytics (GA1) resulted in GA2 and GA3, which are both referred to as Universal Analytics (UA). In 2020, GA4, the most recent version, was released. However, it is not just another version of Google Analytics; rather, it is a whole new product created to address problems that have arisen since the release of UA.
How is Google Analytics 4 different from Universal Analytics?
One of the key advantages of the new Google Analytics 4 features for digital marketing services is the ability to track visitors’ behavior across several platforms. You had already planned to use one UA platform to track website data and another to test Firebase and measure how well your mobile app was being used. This latest version of Google Analytics may be referred to as “GA4 – formerly known as Google App+Web” while it is in beta.
Because you can track users across a website, apps, and software, you now have a complete picture of how your customers interact with your company. Alternatively, cross-platform tracking enables you to examine your audience at various stages of the customer life cycle.
All measures in GA4 are now referred to as “events” in order to better understand how customers engage with your website and app. This is done so that you can follow the entire customer journey. You now have a wide range of possibilities for developing a deeper understanding of user behavior since events keep track of user interactions that cannot be analyzed as page visits inside a session. The combination of flexibility and data granularity leads to better-informed plans and decisions.
AI Predicts Behavior
In addition to more popular client-driven evaluation techniques, GA4 also includes predictions made by the AI. Thanks to Google’s expertise in machine learning, you can use this improved data in Google Ads, remarketing, social media marketing, and yes, your website.
Additional Features:
Getting Around Limitations to Cookieless Tracking and Consent Management: Even as the world moves away from cookies and other identifying data, you will continue to gain useful insights thanks to the usage of AI to find missing data. In light of this, you can maintain new security insurance laws and still learn about your entire clientele.
Increases Control and Customizability New Options: You should probably restrict the scope of your GA4 measurements. Data can be altered to give crucial KPIs for your company priority. By integrating Google Data Studio, you can also produce unique visualizations.
You Can View Data and Reports in a New Way With a New Dashboard: These upgrades are all included in GA4. Although adjusting to a new interface is never easy, the modifications appear to be worthwhile.
Some of the modifications made in Google Analytics 4 when compared to Universal Analytics are as follows:
– You can group the desired reports under “Reports: View Customized Data.”
– The extra reports now include “Acquisition,” “Engagement,” “Monetization,” and “Retention,” which are all correctly grouped under “Lifecycle.”
– The search feature offers the most beneficial support and may be used to both learn the new model and get quick answers to questions. You can either work with it for some self-directed Google Analytics 4 training or consult your digital marketing company.
Conclusion
Google announced in March of this year that as of July 1, 2023, Universal Analytics would no longer be supported. All of your past Universal Analytics data will also be erased in 2023. Consequently, this is the greatest moment to update to Google Analytics 4! Although it is still possible, we advise you to set up your GA4 to work together with UA. This allows you to become familiar with the features and capabilities of the new product. The second step is to start contributing data to your account so that you can get precise and pertinent machine learning insights. Visit www.thirdessential.com, our digital marketing company in India, for more details.